Hindsight Revision
by imiwayume
Summary: Rukia can scream and kick all she wants; Ichigo will still open Pandora's Box for her.
1. One Way Ticket

_**Hindsight Revision**_

By: Yumi

**Notes:** I'll only rant once. I should be doing a million things other than writing, but that's just the "could, should, would, but didn't" crap again. Anyway, I'm new to the Bleach fandom (needed a Naruto break), so let me explain this thing.

This is an AU with drama and gang violence, really brash with lots of language, so don't read if you're sensitive. This isn't a jolly story, so I'll keep it real and trash the fairy tale notion for now. The goal is canon parallels is terms of character-relationship, originality in terms of plot, and relative IC in terms of character portrayal. And also, I'm not much of a fluff writer, but I'll give the characters their moments since Ichigo and Rukia made a sickening good couple. Now, before you ask: How many chapters? Depends, but the plot's figured out. Will I update regularly? Don't hold your breath, my work ethics are shitty (but I do write when inspiration hits). How's my grammar and spelling? I work with what my computer can pick up; I don't promise perfection, just effort. And, I appreciate reviews because they encourage me, but I won't be a whore about it. If you truly liked what I wrote and decide to drop a line, I'm thanking you ahead of time.

Calm and short first chapter. Gets moving from here on.

**General Disclaimer**: I do not own Bleach. The standard applies.

* * *

**Chapter 1:** _One Way Ticket_

"Don't forget it, boy. Don't try to be a hero. No one ever wins that game."

Roughly rough slapping the wide-eyed boy on the back, Rukia stood up and surveyed the casualties. Several unconscious bodies lied adjacent to the boy now scrambling to pull his friend to his feet. Rukia sighed, straightening her uniform before starting to walk to school again. She glanced at her watch and frowned. She was going to be late. Was _already_ late, for that matter. The teachers would let it slide since she was a good student. They praised her for her good work, sharp intellect, her clear eyes, and behind her back, they whispered their pities and sympathies for her. She was the new kid, the new kid who had no family, no friends, nothing.

She did not care. While she found their fussing annoying and unnecessary before, she was now indifferent to it all. She was used to it all. She had run a long way to get away from her past life, and now that she found some semblance of normality, she wanted to savor it and let it all go. She did not want to think about the fact that she was technically still running (in another sense) and was not safe and will probably never be.

As far as Rukia was concerned, bad things happened. It was just the way things turned out sometimes. She was tired of everything and just wanted to live her life without any more storms.

So she didn't particularly like fighting. Being good at it didn't mean she enjoyed it. If anything, it was just troublesome in the end, and she definitely had her fair share of that shit. Living in the streets for a few years made you grow up faster than any amount of schooling can. But if there's one thing Rukia didn't like, it was the strong picking on the weak. It was a fucked up world when the only people who could protect the weak were the strong, and yet the strong did all but the protecting.

But then again, why did the weak just stay weak? Why couldn't they fight back and prove themselves? Rukia sighed again.

_Because it's not a perfect world, get over it._

Finally reaching school, mentally wondering if she should even bothering making up an excuse for being late. Her mind shrugged and suggested that she just tell the teacher that a group of no good idiots were picking on two victims and she had to go tell them off. But her logical half (usually the dominate half, thank God) told her that one, her teacher would never believe that a little petite girl of her size could manage a group of delinquents (and anyway, they thought she was a good girl), and two, why tell the truth when a simple lie could do the trick?

Changing into her shoe slippers, she quickly walked to her classroom and pushed the door open. Ukitake sensei immediately stopped his lesson and looked at the new arrival. Kuchiki Rukia gave a small bow before apologizing for being late. The class stared at her and so did her teacher. Strange. Sure, she was never late...but she was almost certain most of the class didn't even know her well enough to care if they knew she existed at all.

"Kuchiki san, are you alright?"

Rukia furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Yes, I'm okay."

Her teacher looked at her with concern. Clearing his throat, he turned back to the class. "Okay, read from page 223 to 229." He strolled over to Rukia and bent down a bit. Rukia scowled inwardly, she was kind of short. "Kuchiki san, there's a bit of blood on your cheek."

Rukia immediately shot her hand up to her face to feel a sticky dry residue of blood. Oh, that would explain the stares. She probably got it on herself when she jammed her knee into that shithead's cheek.

"Are you being bullied?"

Rukia's features softened slightly. Even though she didn't like to play the pity game, she knew that this was a good man and genuinely cared for her well-being. She forced a smile to her face, she didn't need it to be known that she was the one doing the beating. "No, sensei. I accidentally cut myself making breakfast and probably smeared it on my face."

Ukitake raised one eyebrow as if to say he didn't really buy it, but decided to let it go anyway. He knew she wouldn't talk even if she was being bullied. The girl had spirit, he just didn't know how right he was. "Okay, if that's the case, go wash up and come back when you're done. You've got some reading to catch up with."

Rukia thanked her teacher before excusing herself to the restroom. How stupid of her to not feel the blood on her cheek. It wasn't a particularly a large smudge, but her skin was so pale that she guessed it was pretty obvious. Rounding the corner to the ladies' room, she ran into a hard surface and immediately jumped backward, giving a good amount of space between her and...a student?

_Oops, over reaction._

Rukia looked at who ran into her (because obviously _she_ didn't run into _him_) and kept her features neutral. It was that boy everyone talked about. She remembered his name, if only because it was so fruity sounding and such a stark contrast to his outward demeanor. Kurosaki Ichigo. Although Rukia wasn't one for gossip, it was hard to avoid overhearing conversations about the orange haired boy. He was famous, infamous, or whatever the mix was. The girls liked the bad-ass typ, or so they assumed he was, so they kept on chatting about how he was an amazing fighter, how he skipped class and did what he wanted, and how he was doing this and that. She didn't know how much of what she heard was true, considering how ridiculous some of the stories were.

And Rukia didn't really care except that it was only smart to keep a profile on potentially dangerous people. And she could tell this boy was not exactly her idea of chappy bunny. His eyes were hard and cold, colder than the eyes of a boy his age should have. But she shouldn't be the one talking. She couldn't judge him. She had no right. No desire to.

As Rukia was remembering the things associated with the name "Kurosaki Ichigo," the boy gave Rukia a good scrutinizing look. He was pretty sure he had never seen the girl before, but she was sort of interesting...how she rebounded off him with impressive reflex speed. Her eyes were sharp, and there was blood on her cheeks? He noted her short stature and how her lips were drawn to a closed line. She was looking at him as if she was trying to measure him up. He scowled as he gave a quick "'scuse me" before he walked around her to get to class. He didn't mind being late, but he didn't feel like talking to a (possibly and highly likely) squealing girl.

"You're excused."

He didn't know why he stopped, but Ichigo halted and tilted his head to look at the girl. Her voice was deep, much unexpected from a girl with a pretty face and small frame, and her stance was strong, with her arms crossed and her eyes sparkling with defiance. She gave him one last glare before she turned on her heel and walked away. Ichigo snickered quietly to himself before resuming his walk to his classroom.

_What an annoying girl. _

* * *

That was the first time they met. It was an interesting encounter that neither thought much about until eight months later when they met again.

He was scowling, quite irritated at how much blood she was losing.

* * *

__

_She comments they were from two worlds._

_He agrees, nodding more to himself than to her._

_She thinks that while he likes to look forward to the future, she often dwells on the past._

_He shrugs; he notices this as well, but bad habits can be broken._

_She adds that they always walk different paths._

_He scoffs, wondering why it mattered if they ended up in the same place anyway._

* * *

-tbc


	2. Rewind and Fast Forward

**_Hindsight Revision_**

By: Yumi

**FYI: **Time jumps, POV shifts, mature content, language (Kenpachi love).

* * *

**Chapter 2:** _Rewind and Fast Forward, The Fly-By-Goodbyes _

He was nine when his mother was murdered in front on his eyes. If he was grateful for one thing, it was that Karin and Yuzu were playing blissfully at the nursery when the tragedy happened. Ichigo had not been so lucky. He had been powerless; scared into shock and body paralyzed, he watched as two large men slash at his mother with a razor blade, beat her with their sinful fists, and rape her until her screams pierced into his skin like frozen shards of ice.

He hated himself for not being able to move, to run towards those bastards and slam his small hands in a futile attempt to save his mother. If he had done that, if he was _able _to do that, he would have saved his mother from a few moments of torture and a little less blood would have soaked their carpet floor. And maybe, if he had done that, he would have been killed right there and then in place of her. Dying with her was another option. There would be less guilt, less torment, less endless nights of nightmares and tears.

But hell, he wasn't even able to scream. He shut down. His body was no longer his as the sick bastards slowly killed her. They were laughing and enjoying themselves. They were laughing at him. He knew. They saw him cowardly struggle to get up from his fallen position on the floor. They thought he was so useless, so _insignificant, _that they hadn't even bothered to kill him.

They stopped raping her and started stabbing her repeatedly. When his mother stopped crying, Ichigo felt a part of him die. It was the end. The men were done, and apparently the only objective of them busting into their house was to rape and kill his mother. And then they left, but not before one man took his index finger and twirled it in the pool of blood forming around his mother's lifeless body.

He turned to Ichigo (he remembers this part particularly vividly), and walks up to him. With a predatory grin, he slides down to the boy and pats his check with his blood soaked hand. Then he leaves. Ichigo stays motionless.

Hours pass until his father returns home from work after picking up his two sisters. Ichigo vaguely remembers hearing his sister laugh and scream as young children are prone to do, as his father calls out heartily that he is home.

He remembers seeing his dad as he enters the living room. He remembers his sisters shrieking and crying once they registered what was in front of them. He remembers his father's eyes the most clearly, though, in those few seconds. And then he remembers thinking, '_He is home.'_

And then he remembers no more as the world fades before him in a mesh of red and black. The strings of tension pulling on ever muscle fiber of his body snaps. His little numb limbs give out and his head meets the cold floor with a soft _thud._

* * *

She had forgotten her exact age when they brought her in. Four? Five? But in reality it wouldn't have made a difference if she was four or five or six or seven. It was a number she couldn't associate with; it was merely her age the day she was taken from one place she hated to another cold place, even though she did experience some moments of happiness there.

Rukia still remembers her early days at the orphanage. The memories were not warm and heartfelt, but she had nothing else to fill the blanks of childhood. She doesn't know why but even in her early days, when she was still innocent and willing to wear her heart on her sleeve, she couldn't find happiness or companionship. It was true that she had no family, but looking back, she doesn't understand why she felt so lonely and desolated. No one else had a family and they seemed happier than her. So when she was taken out of there, along with a few other children around her age, she thought, "Good riddance," in a modified vocabulary she must have had when she was toddler.

The happiness, if it was happiness, was short-lived. But she couldn't say she was completely surprised. Disappointed, yes, but certainly not surprised. Instead of being welcomed into a loving family, she was blind folded for hours in a truck until she was ushered into a room and finally allowed to take off her vision guard. The room was a bleached white and smelled clean, a prism of detergent and disinfectant.

It did not smell like home.

She was greeted by several men and women in long white coats. Their faces were not unkind, but altogether too rigid and knowing. They studied her and the others with a calm coolness while she looks at them with an uneasiness that only fear can accompany.

"Hello, children. From now on, this will be your new home. Be good kids and we'll take good care of you. Let's get along." Smiling, a man with glasses stepped forward and gestured his hands towards the children.

Some children nodded hesitantly while others cheered loudly, promising their compliancy. Rukia did not look at the man who had spoken, and instead directed her attention to an old man standing in the back, palming his white beard slowly. He noticed her looking at him and ever so slightly his eyes crinkled downward as his the edge of his lips lifted a fraction higher.

Rukia vowed that even if she were to forget everything else, she will never forget Dr. Shigekuni Yamamoto's first smile at her, even though parts of her still thinks she only imagined it.

* * *

A few weeks after the incident, Ichigo still could not speak. Isshin Kurosaki was at a lost of what to do. They had called the police and done all in their ability to let her rest in peace. He knew, sadly, she would never be granted that simple request, and neither would his son. After the burial, Ichigo stayed by his mother's grave for hours and had refused to go home. It was when he unwillingly succumbed to the bodily need of sleep did Isshin manage to carry his body back home and tuck him into bed. Karin and Yuzu had been supportive, as supportive as young children could have been after losing their mother and watching their older brother retreat into silence.

He closed his clinic. He wanted to spend every moment with his children and figure out what had happened, even though he already knew. He was also in the process of moving. He knew that his children needed distance from this soiled home, and was fixing up the last of his paperwork when a knock came to his door.

"Yo, 'Shin." The man's voice was as gruff as he remembered and just that slight detail comforted him.

"Kenpachi," Isshin greeted slowly. He opened the door wider so that the large man could fit through and watched as his friend kick off his shoes sloppily. He was never a man of conventions.

"Should'da visited you earlier, but didn't wanna come empty handed," Kenpachi grunted as he followed Isshin to his living room.

Isshin looked at him wearily, noting the emptiness in his hands and the sharp gleam of his uncovered eye. He gestured for them to sit and quickly looked around for any sign of his children. He breathed out when he remembered they were still building a castle of sorts in the playroom.

"I haven't seen you in years, don't tell me you want a reunion now."

"Heh, don't give me the cold shoulder, 'Shin. We go way back."

Isshin rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "Yeah, sorry. It's been hard lately."

"Suppose so," Kenpachi murmured. "But listen, the guys and I know the details. We're fuckin' pissed at those fuckheads who think they've gotten away with it. The police are a shitload of useless wimps, so we looked into this for 'ya."

"I'm no longer part of you guys, you know that Kenpachi."

"Fuck that shit." Kenpachi was grinning. "Once a brother, always a brother. I don't care, and those bastards don't seem to either."

Isshin was silent for a moment.

"So it was them."

"Yeah. Those pieces of shits are gaining more control and territory by the day, and they're openly challenging us now. Retards are terrorizing members who have family….'member, Kaien? His wife got…yeah, her too."

Isshin squeezed his eyes together momentary in a silent prayer. He wasn't even religious.

"Real motherfucking shitheads, damn right. Thought it would be real smooth to terrorize former members too, so they got to your family. But fuck, we're not gonna sit and cry about it. We know who did it. We already killed the one of the bastards who got to your wife, and now we're tracking the other. His name is Ichimaru Gin."

"Ichimaru Gin." The syllables felt choking and the name tasted bitter in his mouth. "He's one of—"

"Yeah, practically his right fucking hand. _Sick fuck_."

The room felt heavy and oppressing. Isshin was almost tempted to grab a gun and storm off with Kenpachi (he knew the man was all green lights if asked), but he couldn't. He had children to take care of. He had a promise to keep with his wife.

_Whatever happens, don't kill again. The winner isn't the one who gets revenge, it's the one who gives it up. Promise me, dear. Promise me you'll be a man who our children can look up to and run to._

He promised her. It pained him to think about her words, but he knew what he had to do.

"Thanks Kenpachi."

"Save your thanks. Let's go beat the shitload out of those fucking assholes." Kenpachi stood up.

"No. I can't. I appreciate you telling me, but I can't. I have a family to care for. I can't go back."

"The hell's wrong with you? _Fucking pussy_. Fuck, your wife got nicked, and you fucking rather sit around and mourn than avenge her?! You freaken' eyesore, did you lose your mind? Your wife's gonna hate you from her damn grave 'cuz you're such a dick!"

Before Isshin could retort, soft footsteps interrupted his thoughts. He whipped around. "Ichigo."

The small boy was looking directly into Kenpachi's eyes.

Kenpachi smirked. Kid had guts. "Your boy?"

Isshin nodded. "Ichigo, go back and play with your sisters."

Strangely enough, Ichigo only stood there. Isshin sighed and walked over to usher him back upstairs when Ichigo suddenly yanked out of his grip and ran towards Kenpachi. The tall man raised an eyebrow.

"Don't talk to my dad like that!"

Isshin's eyes widened. Ichigo spoke. He was so grateful he was stunned into temporarily forgetting the situation he was in.

"Kid, you're dad's a wuss," Kenpachi said roughly as he watched the young boy attempt to hurt him by slamming his arms against his leg. Pathetically weak, but at least he was trying. Shaking his head, he rustled the boy's orange tuffs.

"Don't touch me!" Ichigo screamed as he jerked backwards.

"But at least you've got spunk." Kenpachi grinned lopsidedly. He looked up to Isshin. "Take a lesson from your kid, 'Shin, don't you forget what's it like to fight for what 'ya believe in. The guy killed your wife and you think they're going to fucking stop? Hell, they're gonna nick all of you if you don't stand your ass up. Kick his ass before he fucks yours."

"Who killed Mom?"

The room was silent. Isshin and Kenpachi looked at Ichigo's downcast eyes as he slowly lifted his head. His orbs were shinning in a clarity of hatred.

"Name's Ichimaru Gin, kid. We've trashed the other shithead." Kenpachi thought momentarily if he should have told him. The look on Isshin's face was pure murderous. Kenpachi laughed inwardly. _That _was the expression he was waiting for. "Stuff it. Kid deserves to know."

"Ichigo," Isshin started softly, momentarily ignoring that bastard Kenpachi in order to amend the damage that was probably done. "Ichigo, you don't have to think about this. Go back up to your room."

Ichigo apparently did not hear him. His glare never left Kenpachi's face. The man noted how the kid was trembling and how his eyes were simply ablaze.

_Hot damn._

"I'll kill him." Ichigo's voice was very small and disturbingly calm. Isshin ran up to him and shook Ichigo's shoulders.

"Ichigo, Ichigo! Stop, Son, look at me. Look at me, Ichigo!"

Ichigo slowly directed his attention to his father. "Dad gonna protect Karin and Yuzu." He gripped the wrist of his dad as best as possible. "Dad _has _to." He stared right into his dad's eyes and nodded, finalizing his decision.

He looked back at a bemused looking Kenpachi. "And I'll kill him."

Kenpachi ruffled Ichigo's hair and this time he didn't pull back. He glanced at Isshin.

"Kid's got your eyes."

* * *

Rukia woke up in a wash of cold sweat. She bolted up from her twisted blankets and immediately reached up for the chain around her neck. She trailed it down to the small plate-like pendent and traced the familiar grooves of the engraving. The metal was cool to the touch.

She had yet another dream about Dr. Yamamoto's parting words. Even now, years past, the screeching of the alarms were blaring in her ears. The feeling of Dr. Yamamoto's jacket over her thin body was unforgettable as he knelt down and fastened an object around her next swiftly. "An early birthday gift," he assured her as his eyes twinkled; her birthday wasn't for months. He held her shoulders and gave her that kind smile she was used to seeing for those short four years at the lab.

"Remember," he said with such importance the background noise muted around Rukia, "you can only find the answer within yourself." He stood up and motioned for Rukia to follow him. He opened the closest next to his desk, and pushed out the back wood to reveal a locked door. Dr. Yamamoto swiftly pushed in what seemed like a twenty or so letter code before the door opened with a creak. There was a small tunnel that stretched into an infinite darkness. "Run, Rukia. Keep on going until you reach the clearing. It will lead you to the outskirts of this city, but you must not stop there. Keep on going and only stop when you can rest safely. Protect yourself and don't forget what I've taught you. Take this." He grabbed a small bag from the top of the closet and secured it in her hands. "Don't look back, Rukia. Always look forward."

Before she could open her mouth to protest, he ushered her in the tunnel. "Do not worry about me. I am an old man, and I know what's ahead of me. You still have a long way to go, so don't stop looking." And then he smiled, and just like the first time, Rukia thinks it might have been a fragment of her imagination, as he shuts the door. She hears a few clicking noises and then a slam of wood against metal. Then there is only silence.

Without another thought, she crawls into the tunnel a considerable distance until there is more space and she can fully stand. She remembered being scared, a feeling not foreign to her, and then breaks out in a wild run into the darkness. There is no light, not surprisingly, but she doesn't care about the high possibility of running into something or tripping over herself because she had been instructed to run. So she runs and runs until she is out of breath, and then she runs some more. After what seems like hours, she finally reaches a dead end and wonders how she is supposed to escape. Suddenly, she realizes that she is able to see her own hands in front of her (and that she was able to for a while now), and that there must be a source of light somewhere. She looks up and sees a thin sliver of light. Jumping slightly she pushes hard against the surface ahead of her and starts coughing when dust and dirt falls on her. The top cement like rock gives a little and she keeps pushing until the surface is completely removed and she wiggles out of the small hole into the cool air of her new freedom. She is surrounded by grass and trees.

_Don't stop_

She jerks and places the cover back on top of the hole. The moonlight is bright and distracts her temporarily and she remembers the bag she had been clutching in her sweaty palms for the last few hours. She opens the small brown bag and examines the contents carefully. A pocket knife, a flashlight (she tosses it back in the bag thinking how useful it would have been earlier), a small first aid kit (she opens it to find a few sheets of gaze, packages of disinfectant wipes, bandages, and two sheets of pills—painkillers and anti-inflammatory for fevers and infections), bills of cash rolled in a small bundle (she remembers what Dr. Yamamoto had once said to her and quickly separates the money into four piles—one she stuffed in her coat pocket, one in her pant pocket, one tucked in her left sock, and she pauses only slightly before she stuffed the last bit in the right pocket of her bra), a small bottle of water, a bar of chocolate, and a small card. She turns the card over and over again but the only thing on the small piece of paper was the number 46 written in black ink. Deciding that now was not the time to be pondering the many mysteries of Dr. Yamamoto, she took a quick sip of water before dumping everything back into the bag.

She stood up and took one last moment to take in her surrounding. She hadn't seen the moonlight, natural light, in years. She almost forgot how it felt to be free to roam about.

_Don't look back, Rukia._

Rukia sighed as she climbed out of bed in search for a class of cold water to calm her down. Her dreams were always so surreal that she had trouble sometimes remembering that it was all in the past. So much has happened since that day...her fateful encounters, the fighting, the bruises, and the never ending search.

The floor is freezing beneath the soles of her feet. She wishes she had worn socks to bed. Before her hands reached out to turn on the lights, her blood ran cold. She felt a presence behind her and tumbled backwards as she barely missed escaping the slash of a swift blade.

"Now, now, don't be scared little girl," he chuckled softly as he took another step toward her. "I've come to play with you, Rukia. So let's get along."

* * *

_She finds in interesting, the little things in life._

_He only finds it amusing that she finds it interesting. _

_She likes to keep things; small things, big things, anything that helps her remember._

_He likes to keep things too, but he tends to stuff them in his drawers. Some wounds are too fresh._

_She thinks about the details, and analyzes them again and again._

_He thinks about the big picture because in the grand scheme of things, the details weren't so important._

* * *

-tbc

Q/A: 1) In chapter 1, Rukia just saved two random people on her way to school, you know, because she's cool like that 2) Each chapter has an ending tidbit. It's meant to be read separately and then all at once, when all of the chapters are out. Hopefully, you'll see what I'm getting at.

I know Rukia's past is still shrouded in mystery, but chapter 3 is going to focus on the second encounter of Rukia & Ichigo instead. Sorry.

And just for the records, I actually really like Gin. It breaks my heart to have to antagonize him. Sort of.

Thanks for reading (and revewing).


	3. Of Lies and Ambiguities

**_Hindsight Revision_**

By: Yumi

* * *

**Chapter 3:** _Of Lies and Ambiguities _

Rukia grunted as her shoulder blades crashed into the wall. Cursing silently, she decided the only route of escape was the window and jumped right into it, leg first, shattering little sparkling shards of crystal knives. She landed harshly, but without injury (further injuries) and started her mad dash away from the house. Blood was pounding against her bare feet, but she could hear her chaser's light footsteps.

"Caught you, little girl."

Rukia hissed as she felt metal against her right calf. Immediately, her leg faltered and she bent down. Not missing a beat, she swung out her legs in attempt to trip the man in front of her. He merely jumped and chuckled. "Now, now. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?"

Trying to keep her injured leg from wobbling as she stood again to take a fighting stance, Rukia took in the situation before her. It was the dead of the night in a relatively peaceful, if not a little desolated, part of the city. He had managed to throw in a few punches to her stomach and a nasty slash on her back, leg and shoulder. She was nowhere near help (not that she had any, really), and there was very slight chance that he could fend him off.

She was not a bad fighter, but he had been better. Much better.

_Kaien…I'm such a failure._

"Don't look so down, you're gonna get wrinkles on that pretty face of yours, hmm."

"Who are you? What do you want with me?"

The man laughed at her. She stood, waiting, and suddenly he was behind her with his cold fingers wrapped painfully against her neck. "How am I? Doesn't really matter. What do _I _want from you…well, I'd like to chase 'ya a little more. I wanna see your pretty body twisted in blood and fear…but, not yet. From now, all you have to come with me."

She could feel him smirking against her earlobe. Quickly, she leaned into him and shoved her elbow against his stomach. His grip loosened momentarily and she took the chance to free herself. Almost immediately, though, she felt her flesh rip apart on her torso and she fell to the ground, rolling a few meters away before crashing loudly against some metal trashcans.

"Heh, bitchy and feisty. Not bad, I like the bloody look." The man had a crazy, almost faral grin on his face as he neared her. Rukia struggled to lean against the metal surface, grunting as she realized how heavy her body felt. A sudden opening of a window made her snap her neck to the left.

"Oi, what the hell is going on down there?!"

Rukia's eye widened. A teenage boy had opened a window and was now poking his head into the darkness of the night with a scowl on his face.

_No…_ Rukia was crying inside. This boy was going to die because he saw what was going on. He was innocent. "Idiot!" she screamed with all the strength she could gather, tears were stinging her eyes. "Run!"

She couldn't believe her eyes when she couldn't see any fear in his. Before she knew what was happening, the boy opened the window completely and jumped from his window to the ground. For a brief moment she thought he was going to run, run and maybe with small favors, her pursuer would just leave him be. But the moment he stepped from the shadow to the dim moonlight, she realized that he was walking over to her. He was eyeing her with distaste…or rather the blood around her with disapproval. She was frightened. The fool was going to try to help her. He was going to play hero. He was going to die.

The crazy man with the blood soaked knife looked pleasantly amused, though.

_No._

Rukia threw her body with as much momentum as possible and grabbed the man's feet. Hooking her arm around his legs, she glared at the boy approaching her. "STOP! What do you think you're doing? Fool! RUN!"

Now that the weight of impending death had settled in, Rukia finally _looked _at the boy. He had ridiculous orange hair. She had seen that color before. It was him. The boy from her school she ran into that one time…

"Kurosaki Ichigo…" The words escaped her lips before she could stop herself.

* * *

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the scene before him. He knew this girl. He had only seen her once from school, but he had rather good memory, and she was a rather memorable girl for some reason.

He didn't like what he was seeing. The girl had yelled at him to run. Ichigo never ran. She had thrown her body and grabbed the man's legs. She was bleeding all over and looked battered as hell—and she was worried about him?

The moment she said his name, he didn't know why, but he snapped. With a rush of adrenaline, he surged toward the man with shocking blue hair and a disgusting grin on his face. Ichigo felt himself smirk as he watched the man's grin slip as he flashed in front of him to throw a knee into his gut. He wasted no time in delivering a second blow, this time, his fist connected with the man's face. The sound of cracking jaws sounded wonderful to Ichigo.

Quickly, Ichigo swooped down and picked up the shell-shocked girl. She had frozen against his touch but didn't make any resistance. He jumped back to lower her small body against a building wall before he finished the job. He didn't particularly like fighting, but he would not stand for a man hurting a defenseless girl. He didn't know the what's, when's, and why's, but he didn't really need to. This crazy bastard was going to _pay._

"Alright!" The man was getting back to his feet and wiping the corner of his mouth. "Now, _this_ is fun. I'm gonna like crushing you!" He charged at Ichigo, jumping high and swinging his knife down swiftly.

Ichigo crouched down and swung one leg out, kicking the man's attacking arm before bringing his other leg to smash his face.

"What were you saying about crushing me?" Ichigo smirked.

"_Fuck_, now you're gonna get it. I'm actually gonna fight a punk with you seriously…you're gonna be sor—"

"Woah, woah." All heads turned to a man with an odd green and white stripped hat. He was fanning himself leisurely with a secret smile playing on his lips. "Making quite the ruckus, aren't we, Jaegerjaquez san?"

Grimmjow growled. "This is not gang business, so keep your ass out of it Urahara!"

"Kisuke! You know this bastard?! Is he in that ga—"

Kisuke gave Ichigo a small pat on the shoulders. Ichigo huffed angrily.

"Ah, well, you see, my little pupil is being a bit rash right now…but let me assure you, his business is _my_ business. And you know how my buisness works. Excuse my manners, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Kisuke! Let me finish him!"

"Ichigo, I think you'd better attend to the girl." Kisuke's eyes were glinting.

"Hah," Grimmjow tossed Rukia an amused look while snickering. "The princess has guards. Now I'm interested in why he wants her." He directed his vision to Ichigo. "And when I come back for her, I'm going to turn your skin inside out."

Without another word, Grimmjow turned to leave. Ichigo glared at his retreating form before turning his attention to the girl. Somewhere along the way, she had lost consciousness and was just sitting there all bloody and fragile looking. He cursed inwardly.

Looking back, it was probably at that moment, before he knew her name, before he knew her situation, before he grew to love her, that he swore to protect her for the rest of his life.

* * *

_"Kaien!"_

"_Rukia…you…help me."_

_She cried because she was defenseless and helpless. She was weak and pathetic. He had helped her, saved her, taught her, and she could not do what he asks of her._

"_No, Kaien…no, we can get you to a hospital! Kaien, don't, just don't speak. I'll take you there now!" She pulled one of Kaien's limp arms around her shoulder and attempted to pull him up. It was no use. He was too heavy and his legs were completely broken._

_Rukia never felt so lost in her life. "I'll get help!" She declared to Kaien, hoping that it sounded convincing, even though she herself wasn't very convinced. _

_Kaien wasn't going to make it and they both knew it. He was smiling at her painfully. She hated herself._

"_Rukia, Rukia….please, do it." He handed her a dagger and she cringed at the sight of the blisters that burst with a blackish green puss. "The toxin will kill me if you don't…and I don't want to die…like that. I want her to recognize me when I see her…"_

_He was referring to his not yet avenged wife. Rukia felt a new batch of tears flowing in._

"_Kaien, no, no…I can't…this I can't…"  
_

"_Rukia."_

"_No, don't, please, I don't, no…"_

"_Rukia."_

"_Kaien, I…"_

"_Rukia!" He was begging her with his eyes. 'Help me Rukia', he was saying, 'save me.'_

_Who could she save?_

_She wanted to stab herself. She stabbed him instead. _

"Kaien!" Rukia's eyes snapped open. She shivered as her sense became aware of the cold air making contact with her sweat.

"Oi."

Rukia whipped her head around and tried to get up. She was curiously on a futon.

"Stop moving, we got you bandaged up, and you've finally stopped bleeding." Ichigo scowled at her, looking a bit uncomfortable and noting for probably the millionth time that night at how tiny she was.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," she said slowly. She couldn't believe she was alive. And that he was alive as well.

"Aa, you're from school."

"Kuchiki Rukia." Her voice was strong and soft at the same time. He didn't know how that worked.

He nodded and motioned for her to lie back down. She hesitated for a moment before complying. Her wounds were still stinging.

"So what the hell was that?" He looked at her seriously. "What did that jackass have to do with you?"

Rukia opened her mouth to reply but she really couldn't. Honestly, she didn't know what was going on herself. He never really told her what he wanted with her…but she had an inkling, and if she was right, there was no hope for her. She bit her lip. He noticed.

"I don't know. He just showed up at my house and started attacking me so I ran."

Ichigo made a grunting noise. "You live a good mile away from where I live, right? Where I saw you? That house with the traditional décor and stuff."

She nodded, not really understanding what he was getting at.

"Ah, Kisuke, uh, this is his home, saw on the news that the place got burned down just now. Probably when the bastard left, he did a quick fix on your place."

Ichigo frowned when she didn't look frazzled. She was just blinking and taking in the information calmly.

"You have family members you needa contact?" Ichigo pointed to the phone in the corner of the tatami floored room. "You can use it."

"No." She replied immediately without looking at him.

Ichigo scratched his head a bit irritated for not really knowing how to deal with the situation. This girl was so broken, it made him feel…he felt…

"You."

Ichigo turned to face Rukia. Her gaze was serious and it pierced right into Ichigo's.

"You need to hide yourself. I don't know how you managed to get us away, but you can't get involved anymore."

Ichigo wrinkled his nose "Whatever. You said you didn't know who did it or why."

"I don't, but I don't need you to do anything else. I'm grateful to you, but I need to leave soon and you need to hide as well."

"Where are you going?"

Her eyes cast downward. "Doesn't matter."

"Then stay here for now." He looked away.

She looked back up to him. "No. Just make sure you hide yourself well."

Ichigo turned to glare at the girl. "I don't _hide_. I fight."

"Don't be stupid! You got lucky this time, what if next time…" _next time you end up like Kaien?_

"Lucky? Hah! I could take that freako any day. I don't know when you passed out, but if Kisuke didn't show up, I'd have pummeled his ass."

Rukia snorted. No doubt that the boy was strong, but the people that wanted her…if she guessed correctly…were not going to relent because of him. They were going to take her eventually. And break him. "You're arrogant, you know that? Don't be a fool and just listen to some damn sense!"

"What did you say, you midget?! Look, I just saved you and you're telling me _I'm _arrogant? _I _have no sense?"

Feelings of pain temporarily forgotten, her body shot upwards to a sitting position. "I'm not a midget! And yes you are! You arrogant _fool!_"

"Yeah? Yeah? You scrawny midget! You were about to die! Do you know how much blood you were covered in? Huh? No? Don't go worrying about other people when you can't even take care of yourself, _midget._"

"I can take perfectly good care of myself, thank you very much!"

"Hah! That's rich! You just got saved, I _carried _you back here while you were unconscious. Look at how you're talking."

"Well, I never asked to be saved!"

"Well too bad! You were and don't go complaining when someone saves you!"

"Well I didn't want you to, I told you to run!"

"Thankfully I didn't listen to your idiotic advice 'cuz I rescued your ungrateful ass without a scratch on me!"

"Fool, when is it the case that the rescuer doesn't listen to the will of the one being rescued?"

"When the one being rescued is a short, stupid, weak midget!"

"Say that again!"

"Yeah, what of it, midget!"

The door slid open, revealing a laughing Kisuke. "Looks like you're much better Kuchiki san."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "You were eavesdropping."

"Nonsense. Just showing some concern for our pretty guest over here." Kisuke walked over to Rukia and sat down besides her futon.

"Thank you." Rukia gave a small bow. "For helping me."

Kisuke waved his hand. "It's nothing." He smiled at the girl. _Oh, the resemblance. _"Right! Where are my manners? My name is Urahara Kisuke."

Rukia nodded politely and then looked around the room uneasily.

"Don't worry. This place is pretty far from both Ichigo's and yours. It'll be safe. You can stay here until you recover fully."

"Oh no," Rukia said quickly, "I'll leave tomorrow. I can't bring you anymore trouble Urahara san."

"Would you talk some sense into her? This stupid little midget thinks she should just waltz back out there with no where to go, not knowing why she got freakin' attacked!"

Rukia glared at Ichigo.

Kisuke smiled. "As crude as my cute little pupil is at describing the situation, I do agree with him. You'll stay until you're better. It's decided!" Kisuke clapped his hand happily together before Rukia could squeeze in another word.

"Well, It's been a long night for everyone. We'll talk more in the morning. Get some rest Kuchiki san." Kisuke got up and yawned. Turning back to Ichigo and Rukia, he grinned. "Make sure our guest enjoys her stay, Ichigo."

Ichigo grunted a rough "yeah right," and turned away, clearly annoyed. Kisuke chuckled inwardly. Despite his protest, he knew Ichigo was set on protecting this girl. He was going to do a good job, too. For sure.

_He better. _Kisuke took off his hat and twirled it around several times with his index finger and sighed. _But_ _I'm going to have to deal with an angry Kuchiki Byakuya either way. _

It was the start of something rather unpleasant.

_

* * *

_

_She likes to walk two steps ahead of him._

_He is not so fond of the idea._

_She explains that if she's ahead, she can do all the logical thinking. Snickering, since he sucks at it. _

_He retorts that if she's so smart, why is she always getting into trouble?_

_She flumes, ignores the comment and asks if it's really that bad to watch her back while she takes his front?_

_He turns away and murmurs that it's not that bad, but he rather walk with her, sided by side._

* * *

-tbc

Q/A: 1) Hmm, how do I put this… he _was_ alive when Kenpachi and Isshin were talking to young Ichigo. I've alluded to many Kaien-related topics in this chapter, but it'll piece better later on 2) Nice observation about Rukia's last name, but I can't give it away…you'll see it really soon though 3) Summary? To keep it really brief: Ichigo is part of a gang in order to avenge his mother, Rukia is running away from another gang (the opposing gang, conveniently) which controlled the lab experiments she was part of when she was young. There's a lot more unsaid about Rukia and she's going to be the main drive for the story. It's just kinda fated how they meet, how he saves her, and then how he helps her here on out. God, don't you just love Ichigo and Rukia? They're so super together.

Sorry for making Grimmjow look weak. He isn't. Just entertain the idea of a really strong Ichigo (which is imaginable, right? When he's not _stupidly_ jumping into battles blindly).

thanks for reading!


	4. Paradox of the King’s Cup

_**Hindsight Revision**_

By: Yumi

* * *

**Chapter 4:** _Paradox of the King's Cup_

It was barely dawn when Rukia woke up. She saw the faintest slits of light coming from the sliding doors and blinked several times to decide her next course of action. The eccentric man, Rukia could already tell with the ten minutes of interaction from last night, had told her to stay put until she got better. Begrudgingly, she went to sleep because it really would do no good to try to leave this place in the state she was in. She gingerly touched her bandaged wounds and decided that they were no where near healed, but at least the bleeding seemed to have stopped. The pain was a whole different story, but Rukia knew better to complain. She looked around the room and stopped almost immediately when the warm and calming colors of brown and white clashed in an immediate halt when a loud orange blob came to view.

Kurosaki Ichigo was sleeping on the other side of the room in a sitting position. Arms crossed with some sort of wrapped sword on his lap, the boy seemed perfectly at peace resting in his position. Rukia noticed that when he was sleeping, the permanent scowl he had etched on his face loosened and he looked almost peaceful, if not a little tired.

It was her fault. Obviously, he was someone that was used to fighting and bloodshed, but she couldn't ease the guilt she felt for dragging him into something like this. Even though he was an insufferable, arrogant, tactless _brat_ for all he was worth, she felt that he was a genuine person. Hell, he decided to protect her—and who was she to him? Who was she to anybody?

_Nobody. _

Sighing softly, Rukia decided it was time to go. She didn't have full command of her body yet, but it was good enough to run somewhere and hide. It was true it was safest here for her, but it sure as hell wouldn't be safe for Kurosaki and Urahara. Rukia slipped the covers off slightly, her skin immediately protesting by sending goose bumps up her arm. She looked down and rubbed her arm absentmindedly until she realized that she was not in her pajamas anymore. She didn't notice yesterday, in the rush of things, but now she found herself in a pale blue and white sundress, speechless, not sure to be grateful or offended. She pushed the thought aside; it was probably for the sake of dressing her wounds…and she supposed that since her previous garments had been brutally slashed, a change of clothes was well in ordered. She just hoped that it was neither of the men who did it.

Stealthily, Rukia completely slid out from under the futon and quickly straightened out the blankets. No one could fault Kuchiki Rukia for being a bad houseguest. She mentally apologized to the sleeping boy as she stole once last glance at him before heading out of the room. Her slender fingers were on the rim of the door frame, opening slightly, when she felt someone behind her. The door slide shut.

"Oi, where do you think you're going?"

Rukia's eyes widened as she turned to face Ichigo. He was stifling a yawn with one hand while his other was keeping the door closed. He was ridiculously fast and sneaky; she hadn't even heard him get up

Rukia remained silent. Ichigo glared at the girl inches away from him and grimaced. He liked it better when she was all fired up and yelling at him, as crazily masochistic as it sounds, than when she was quiet and gloomy. He lifted one eyebrow.

"What, midget, got so scared last night, you're mute now?"

That did he. Rukia's head snapped up and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Call me that again and I'll break your neck."

Ichigo grinned at the empty threat. "I'd like to see you try. So what, midget, trying to run away?"

Rukia fumed and poked one index finger sharply against his chest. "Listen here, I am not running away. I can go wherever the hell I want, so remove that stupid hand of yours so I can get far, _far_ away from an idiot like you."

Ichigo blinked several times and removed his hand from the door. If Rukia was shocked by his sudden corporative gesture, she didn't show it on her face. She held her head high as she spun around and opened the door. She stepped out to the hallway and immediately found a fault in her plan. She had no idea how to get out of this place.

But it was not a big deal. Since her pride would certainly not allow her to _ask_ the infuriating boy which way to go, she simply decided to take the route on the right. Surely, she would find some way out. The place looked pretty big, but it couldn't be that hard.

Or so Rukia thought. After twenty minutes of roaming around hallways, stumbling into empty rooms that lead to more empty rooms, Rukia was at a lost. Who in their right mind built their house like a freaking maze? There was so much free space everywhere and because all the rooms looked so identical, she had no idea if she was just running in circles this whole time. Kuchiki Rukia was irked. _No wonder he didn't try to stop me, that ass._

But, even in her indignant fury, she had to admit it was rather ingenious. Who would have thought—a house maze? No wonder Urahara said it was safe here. It made her weary of who this Urahara character actually was.

Calming herself down, Rukai put her right hand on the right wall and started walking. She recalled Dr. Yamamoto telling her once that whenever one was lost, always walk in one direction, guided by one hand. Nodded to herself at that fond memory, Rukia started walking. In less than five minutes, she approached a room that had light and noise coming from the inside. Picking up her pace, Rukia slid open the door to find Ichigo, Urahara, and three other people sitting around a table having breakfast.

Rukia felt defeated.

"Ara ara, I was wondering when you'd come to join us! Here, here Kuchiki san. Come have some breakfast." Urahara waved towards the bowls of rice, soup, and side dished on the table. Apparently, he had been expecting. "Don't mind Ichigo. He's just being his usual morning grump." Rukia glanced from the food to the boy purposely looking away from her, scowling.

"Your tea's cooling, Kuchiki san," Urahara said, smiling.

Rukia could only nod numbly before seating herself on the vacant zabuton next to Ichigo. She heard Urahara introduce the two kids and the impressively muscular man sitting across from her and bowed politely. The girl offered to get her new, hotter tea, which Rukia accepted with a small smile on her face. It felt so warm. This must have been what normality feels like.

She looked at the food before her and felt her stomach do a small summersault. She hissed internally at her traitorous stomach before she complied tiredly and picked up the warm bowl of miso soup. Food was doing a good job at improving her mood.

Unfortunately, the guy to her right was rapidly dampening it. Rukia ignored the boy now glaring at her, and concentrated on the food before her. She had never gotten used to cooking for herself so would usually buy bread and salads to eat. A warm meal shared with so many people was somewhat of a small miracle for her. For five minutes, she simply ate, forcing herself to absorb this experience into an everlasting memory. From the corner of her eye, she say Urahara smile at her.

"Kuchiki san, how are your wounds?"

Rukia straightened up by reflex. "I feel much better, thank you. I don't know if I can ever repay you for all this."

"Nonsense! We've been through this before. Just make this place your own home. Now, before you tell me how it's better for you to leave, I'd like to ask you a few things. Would that be okay, Kuchiki san?"

She nodded hesitantly. Telling people about herself was typically not something Rukia enjoyed doing…but he did just save her life…

"Can you tell us a little about yourself, Kuchiki san?"

Rukia looked up, surprised. "I'm not sure what you mean."

Kisuke chuckled. "How about a little timeline? From when you were a kid until now, what happened?"

Rukia looked at the people around the room. The only person meeting her eyes was Urahara. The two children were eating silently (but she knew they were paying close attention), the large man had excused himself to attend to the shop (whatever that meant), and Kurosaki was now glaring at an offending spot on the wall.

"I don't remember anything earlier than from the time I was in an orphanage." Rukia averted Urahara's gaze and looked down at her half drunken bowl of miso soup. "I was there until one day the sister said a group of us was leaving the place. It turns out we were sent to some sort of laboratory. I don't know what we were there for, but soon enough I was separated from the rest of the children. A doctor took care of me for a few years, but then one day something exploded in the lab. He took me and lead me to some sort of underground passage. He told me to run. He said it wasn't safe for me. I didn't understand…I…I just ran."

Rukia fell silent, her bangs covering her face. Ichigo looked down at the girl, his expression softening. How could so many things happen to a child? And what kind of sick experiments were they doing to kids?

"And then, Kuchiki san? Did you manage to escape without trouble?"

"Ah…you could say that."

Ichigo felt himself grimace at a sudden painful smile Rukia had on her face.

"I ran until I somehow ended up in the next city area. I had some money…the doctor had given it to me…and I managed to fend for myself buying food and sleeping at a church at night. Those days didn't last long. I didn't know what to do so I wandered around the city, trying to find a place where I could stay. I ended up at the…more worn parts of town and one day a group of bullies attacked me. They were around my age." Rukia paused when she saw Ichigo visibly tense, his eyes flashing in anger. "But, I was saved. A…kid around my age came and protected me. He…well, we were together ever since. I used whatever money I had left to buy food for both of us. We took care of each other…"

'_And then we met Kaien. He found us one day, fighting against kids twice our size, and saved us. He taught us how to fight…meeting us a few times a week and treating us to warm meals. And then…he stopped coming. Renji and I were both worried, but knew he wouldn't want us looking for him. He was somewhat of a secretive man with a complicated identity…_

_Renji went out to look for food one day. I stayed at our 'apartment,' an abandoned apartment in a half burnt down complex. A loud slam at the door suddenly distracted me from my reading (Kaien noted my ability to read and brought me books) and I ran to hide behind a sofa chair. When Kaien's bloody form staggered through the doorway, his eyes bloodshot and cloudy, I ran to him. _

_He said my name weakly._

_I cried his name loudly._

_And then he asked me…_

_Asked me…'_

"Rukia!"

Ichigo watched as her eyelashes flutter rapidly before she shot her eyes up to meet his. Her irises were glassy; she looked lost.

"You…you okay? You just stopped talking suddenly."

"Oh." Rukia shook her head a few times, hoping to clear it. She swallowed the lump growing in her throat forcefully and rubbed her hands together. They felt dirty, blood soaked.

"That's enough for now Kuchiki san," Kisuke said gently. Rukia nodded jerkily at him and he smiled. Byakuya always left out the important details.

"It must be fate then!"

Rukia and Ichigo looked up at a laughing Urahara, the former surprised, the latter frowning.

"Kuchiki san managed to find her way to this city and meet us! That's nothing short of fate, wouldn't you say?"

"Whatever old man. She was in my high school and we never ev—"

"You remember?"

Ichigo's frown deepened. A faint blush dusted his cheek. "Yeah, what of it? It's not every day a midget runs into me."

"Excuse me? I must have heard incorrectly. _You_ ran into _me_, and you apologized for it."

"Only because if would have been too troublesome, jeez."

"Oh, what a development," Kisuke interjected, voice warm. "You didn't tell me, Ichigo, that Kuchiki san was from your high school."

"Ah, well, it wasn't worth mentioning. It's not like it has anything to do with—"

"Actually, I believe it does," Kisuke began thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "Kuchiki san, how long have you been living in this city?"

"Um. I transferred into the school during the sophomore year. So, three years."

"Three years and nobody randomly attacked you, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"Ichigo, do you remember what happened a few days ago?"

"What are you talking about, old man? Nothing. We graduated, that's it."

"Yes, and Kuchiki san here graduated as well. At an event like that, where people could easily monitor you, must have been open to people who noticed her."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "So it really was those bastards!" He turned to Rukia and snapped, "Those bastards from Bankai are out to get you. You're gonna stay right here!"

Rukia couldn't find anything to say. She was confused.

"Now, don't scare her, Ichigo." Kisuke motioned for Rukia to drink more tea. "Kuchiki san, what I'm about to tell you I can only do so if you promise to stay here and accept our protection. I have a theory about why you were attacked."

Rukia nodded. For now, she had to take what she can get.

"Ichigo and I are part of a group called the Seireitei. You can call it a gang, you can call it an underground law enforcing group, but in any case, we have a enemy group called the Bankai. Now, while Ichigo's identity is well known to them, yours wasn't. It is my guess that they have been monitoring Ichigo for a while now and did so as normal on his graduation day. Bad luck as it goes, whoever watching him must have recognized you on that day as well. Several days later, you were attacked, and here you are now."

"So you're telling me these Bankai people want me, but, for what?"

"Hmm…that, I am not sure of. But in any case, now you can stay here without a worry. As far as we are concerned, the Bankai are our enemy and their enemy is naturally our ally! And technically, it could be Ichigo's fault in the first place that they discovered your identity when you've been living here so peacefully for so long."

Ichigo grumbled some incoherent things under his breath. Rukia only stared at Urahara. Could she not feel guilty about potentially killing this…this…

"Oi!"

"What?!" Rukia's face burned. She had been staring him for a second too long.

"Sorry," he said softly. Amber met Amethyst. "But I promise to kick those bastards asses, so just stay put here, okay?"

"Idiot." Rukia turned away momentarily before turning back with a smirk. "I can do the ass kicking myself."

* * *

After breakfast, Urahara agreed to give Rukia a tour of the house. She promised that she would stay, but reasoned that it would be stupid if it took her twenty-five minutes daily to get from one place to another in that maze of theirs. The trick was, Urahara noted happily, looking up at the ceiling. If one looked closely enough, there were indicators to where in the house the person was currently in. The whole place was partially underground (which would explain it's large size compared to the small antique store he ran on ground surface), and even deeper underground in another direction was a training group. Apparently, Urahara's place was the meeting place for the Seireitei whenever there had to be a meeting in this town.

Rukia took in everything quickly and made mental notes every now and then. Ichigo followed them the whole time, not saying anything except a noncommittal, "I've got nothing better to do anyway."

They stopped at the training ground. Urahara excused himself, stating that he had some business to attend to at the shop.

Rukia looked around at the sparring grounds and the shooting range in amazement. Ichigo picked up a gun and ran a few rounds, hitting the target perfectly every time. Rukia told herself not to be impressed.

Minutes later, Rukia found Ichigo sitting down next to her.

"Midget."

"Do you want to die?"

"What?'

"Stop calling me that."

"Fine, Rukia."

"What?"

"Nevermind."

Rukia frowned. "Look, if you've got something to say, then say it! Don't beat around the bush like a sissy!"

"Geez! Why can't you have a civilized conversation for once! Don't go biting off people's head all the time!"

Rukia huffed. "Just tell me what you wanted to say."

Ichigo was quite for a moment. "I was just wandering why…why you wanted to come here, to this city, to school…"

"Oh." Rukia played with the hem of her dress. "I…I was sort of adopted into a family and so I came here. I went to school just to…I guess have a normal life."

There were so many questions Ichigo wanted to ask, but something in Rukia's voice made him stop. She would tell him if she wanted to in good time.

"And you? How did someone like you end up in a gang?"

"I need to get revenge with someone in Bankai. The whole place is fucked up, but there's a personal score I need to settle." His voice was calm, but Rukia knew that was all he was going to say.

Rukia looked around them. "So you've been training here? Your aim isn't bad."

"The gun is dangerous, but it's nothing compared to what you can do with blade."

Rukia stilled. Kaien had said the same thing.

"Rukia? You alright?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Just not sure what you meant."

"Hm. My blade is my partner. Once you've trained your body to match your blade,

–_it'll be the best weapon you can possibly have. _

it'll be the best weapon you can possible have." He grinned at Rukia.

* * *

_She prefers dark colors to light, saying that light colors stain easily._

_He disagrees, commenting on how boring dark colors were._

_She prefers sweets over salty foods, casually offering a piece of chocolate to him._

_He shoves her hand away and tells her to have it herself. He doesn't mind one way or another, really, but she should eat more since she's so damn skinny._

_She prefers watching the sunrise to the sunset._

_He doesn't have a preference; it's boring to him. But he'll watch both, begrudgingly, if it's with her._

* * *

-tbc

Notes: finally, right? I told you there would be _some_ sense if you kept reading. Gosh, the filler episodes are awesome. Love Sode no Shirayuki.

Thanks guys!


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